Hot Night
by VanillaSpiders
Summary: Phantom's a ghost—his core temperature is somewhere near Popsicle and bag of frozen peas. He's also the coldest thing in the Fenton house when the air conditioning breaks one boiling August night. If Danny weren't a C student he would have thought of this two days ago. pitch pearl oneshot


**A/N: It hasn't actually been that hot yet this summer, so I don't know where this is coming from. Other than I wanted to do something other than drawing so I tried this.**

**Danny Phantom: Hot Night **

_It isn't __**that**__ hot_. Danny told himself for the twentieth time, lying in nothing but his boxers on the kitchen tile. He tried not to gasp for air because _that_ was a touch dramatic, and it was too hot for any dramatics, just as it was too hot for sleeping, or walking, or basically anything else that involved exerting energy, which made stupid heat. Danny's solid C in Science maybe have dropped to a whiny D after the ghost hunting crap but he wasn't _completely_ idiotic.

_This heat isn't REAL. Dad probably tried to make the thermostat a, a ghost thermostat and now its saying its 70 something because its, because it's busted. In the middle of the freaking night. Yeah go with that Fenton. It's not the fighting ghosts that's gonna send you over the edge, it's the summer night sweats.' _

Danny moaned as he craned his head up to peer the oven clock's glowing green numbers, ignoring the drip of sweat. _1:34…maybe mom and dad have the right idea for once…maybe I should join them and Jazz in the basement—oh wait, no Jazz is at her booooyfriends,'_ Danny glared at the ceiling as if it had wronged him somehow. '_Whose air conditioning isn't a piece of crap.' _It was hard to tell if his annoyance at the guy was because he was dating his (only) sister, or because of the central air conditioning he had. Probably a mixture of beads of sweat made bids for freedom, and only ended up making it down the side of his face and into his hair. He swiped at them feebly. About time for the buzzards to start flying circles round the kitchen lamp, Danny figured.

Unable to lie on his spine comfortably anymore, Danny rolled onto his stomach, wincing when his back tried to stick to the cheap linoleum. He shoved his black bangs off his forehead, and licked his dry lips. The teen raised himself up on feeble arms and let himself collapse back down.

'_Screw it.' _

He sighed, letting his face rest down on the floor, not giving a damn for health anymore. It was too hot to care. He moved so his arms were by his side, and shifted a bit. Might as well be slightly comfortable when he melted away right here next to the sink. He'd already had taken two showers…he couldn't use anymore water; it was starting to come out hot because their neighbors had the same idea.

Any bit of cold would be a relief right now, and just as Danny seriously considered pulling everything out of fridge and crawling into it, he breathed out and for a split second his own _air_ was a slightly _cold_. Uh oh.

'_Please don't be the box ghost—' _

"Daniel? Is there any reason you're lying on the kitchen floor in your boxers?" came a voice somewhere by the doorway that lead to the living room. The voice sounded marginally like his own, except with a hint of maturity and a odd echo to it that differentiated them.

'_On second thought, I'll take the box ghost.'_ He was joking, of course. Somewhat. He just wasn't sure he wanted Phantom seeing him in this pathetic, given up state—curse his dumb pride.

"Yes I'm looking for the ant people who live under the fridge—" He jerked his head and half glared half pouted at his effortlessly floating ghost's glowing form. "Because in case you haven't noticed, it's the middle of August, and Amityville's breaking its heat record for night—" They'd actually broken it 9 degrees ago, and while you'd think that wouldn't make much of a difference, it certainly felt like it to Danny.

"And I think I'm going to die down here!"

"We did?" Phantom flicked his tail and hovered over to him, leaning down. "You are? Please don't. Or at least not here in the kitchen—you'll get mistaken for the Lunch Lady or something. S'not a graceful way to go in my opinon." Phantom commented blithely.

"We'll I'd be Danny _Phantom_ again though, won't I? Or maybe I'll start answering to Inviso-Bill and see where that gets me." Danny said grumpily, leaning his chin on his hand and staring up at those green eyes challengingly. The heat had made him miserable and tired and sweat, and really, Danny just felt like being difficult.

"I'm Phantom, you're Danny. We agreed on this, you named me." Phantom never seemed to mind Danny's difficultness, and the teen wondered if his ghost half took some perverse pleasure in the battle of wits and wills they often fell into.

"Don't you remember? When you split in the Ghost Catcher the third time. I'll admit the first time I hated it—that's why I shot back into you, I was scared, and the second well, _that_ was a fiasco that nearly scared the afterlife out of me, but it could have gone worse I suppose. But at least we seem to have gotten it right this time…"

The almost see through end of Phantom's long spectral tail snapped in the air happily and lifted him a few inches up as he spoke, a hint of pride in his voice Danny had learned quickly was as firm as the ghost's trademark possessiveness. The ghost's chest was even sticking out and nose lifting as his legs appeared and he landed on the floor, deciding to obey gravity for once, though his boots didn't make a sound.

"Yes we have, and I'm starting to wonder if I—" Danny blinked, something finally dawning on him. "…you're still in your suit." He mumbled in a vague sort of way, as if in a trance.

"Hm? Of course I am."

"…I'm roasting here on the floor and _you're_ in your suit—! Duh! You—" Danny slapped his forehead and sprang up. "Uwoah—" He'd stood up too fast, his sense of balance thrown off by the heat getting to his head, and when Phantom reached a hand out to automatically steady him, Danny's suspicions were confirmed. He moved his hand and grabbed Phantom's in response, tugging him close in his excitement.

"I'm such an idiot!"

"Contrary to some of your teacher's beliefs, you are not. You are just foolish when it comes to applying yourself and ghost hunting has taken precedence over your schoolwork for far too lon—"

"Shut up and strip."

Now it was Phantom's turn to stare.

"Excuse me?"

"Pleeease Phantom, you're a ghost, you're freezing—" "I am not," "You are to me, I'm dying down here, seriously! Throw me a bone, hold your hand against the back for my forehead, let me hug you, anything, I'm burning up!" Danny whined.

"Daniel I—"

"PLEAAAASE. Please with those mint chocolate cupcakes and those little ghost sprinkles you like on top!" (Because once Sam had shared her love of cupcakes with Phantom, the ghost had been smitten with them every since. And cooking in general for some reason, it was kind of cute. Not that Danny would ever tell Phantom that.) That and the puppy dog eyes worked every time when Danny begged. He was not above shame—it was too damn HOT for shame actually.

"…oh, very well." Phantom relented finally, shaking his head and looking down at him with a touch of pity Danny was willing to overlook.

"Not here though, come on," and before Danny can protest he's hefted right off the floor and carried up the stairs and yes, any other time Danny'd kick and scream and wiggle and generally make himself a nuisance but _he was right_, because the second he comes into contact with the ghost's body—ohsweetheavenly_COLD_.

"Mmmnrgh." Said Danny intelligently, having pressed his face against the first bit of Phantom it connected with, most likely the crook where his shoulder and neck met. He slung his right arm round Phantom for good measure too, and sighed at the wonderful chill that settled around him, effectively trying to combat the heat that clung to his body.

"…if I weren't a C student I would have thought of this two days ago." Danny moaned quietly.

Phantom chuckled, the noise reverberating in his neck that Danny had shoved his nose against, and Danny let his eyes slip closed trustingly as Phantom phased them through his bedroom door. They were still moving, and next thing he knew Phantom's torso was bending, and gravity was trying to pull him down from his delicious cold source.

"…Daniel, you have to let go."

Danny grunted and tightened his grip, not caring an ounce if it was childish.

"I can't phase out of my hazmat suit if you don't." Sometimes Danny wished his ghost wasn't such a damn logical creature.

So Danny cracked open an eye, closed it and sighed, dropping on his bed with a thump. He kept his eyes closed and kicked off the sheets and comforter and probably a pillow too, but before he could open his eyes to find out the lovely frosty sensation was back. This time a touch stronger than before, it caused Danny's spine to shiver as Phantom stretched out on his side of the mattress. Danny rolled onto his left side to meet him, and stared at the suddenly bare (and maybe rather nice) chest.

"Well hello."

"You _said_ strip."

"…you still have your belt and pants." Danny pointed out mildly as he shimmied up more against that tan chest. (Why was the ghost tanner than the human? Why did he care? Probably the heat. Did things to your head after all.)

"Mhm." Said Phantom in a noncommittal sort of way. Danny felt fingers wander through his hair and hit his scalp, and run over the back of his neck, wiping the sweat away and replacing it with a refreshing coolness.

"Modest."

"It's because I like doing this, that's why." Danny grinned when Phantom's long black tail slid round his legs and wrapped round one, ending curled up by his ankle. It wasn't squishy but it wasn't entirely firm, it sort of felt like a snake's tail, minus the scales. It was cool to the touch and slightly illuminated in his room as Phantom twisted for a second to turn off his bedside lamp.

"Yeah…" Danny paused to yawn, "I know." The biggest cause of his inability to sleep was now ebbing away with each pass of Phantom's cold and slightly more calloused fingers moved over his side or through his hair. Danny felt his mind shutting down and going blissfully darn and numb and, of course, cold.

"…I like it'oo…"

Phantom hummed in response because by now Danny wasn't so much able to hold a conversation as he was able to slur back responses. For one thing he was pressed up so hard against his giant ice pack, and for another he was half asleep and slurring his words to prove it already.

"Goodnight Daniel."

"….smuh….ni..ht.."

Phantom rested his chin atop his human's head and listened to him sleep, marveling quietly at his human's pulse.

Being a ghost still had its perks. This was nice.


End file.
